THE CITY REBORN FROM THE ASHES OF AMERICA'S MOST DISASTROUS FOREST FIRE

Pound Residents Urged To Leave Faucet Running

Village of Pound residents who use less than 5,000 gallons of water a month are encouraged to leave a faucet running constantly, with a water flow about the width of a pencil, said Kevin Schutte, Public Works and Utility Director, at the Tuesday, Feb. 11 Pound Village Board meeting. He said the cold weather has caused many residents to lose water service because of frozen pipes. Schutte advises residents to continue doing this until further notice. If residents have questions call him at 906-290-2304. The Village has tried to contact many residents with these instructions, with mixed success, he commented. Residents who do this will have their bills adjusted according to water use figures from the fourth quarter of 2013.

Board President Jay Martens called the meeting to order at 6 P.M. Schutte reported all of the villages outdoor Christmas lights had been removed, and added new LED bulbs that he is phasing in to the Christmas light displays have held up well, with only one going bad. He estimates that the LED bulbs will save the village about $214 in electricity every year compared to the incandescent bulbs.

He also reported the village used 9.5 tons of sand and 5 tons of salt to make streets passable after recent snowstorms. He turned off the heat at the DNR building and winterized it.

Trustee Mary Meyer was named village representative to the Marinette County Association for Business and Industry for a three year term. Martens also shared preliminary news of an inquiry from a business to build a facility in the villages industrial park, and the Board made plans to get bids from city planning consultants to map out the park. Trustees also discussed the possibility of passing an ordinance forbidding street parking during the winter, as city and county snowplow operators have had problems with plowing around cars parked on County Q. Schutte also shared a concern that the cold winter weather will cause problems with street pavements cracking and heaving once the warm weather arrives.

Clerk/Treasurer Patricia Schutte reported on plans for the villages centennial celebration, which will be held on June 27-28, the same weekend as the Firemans Picnic. She is working to have live entertainment. More information will be following.

She also announced the village new website is up and running, and can be found at www.villageofpound.com. Residents can pay their utility bills on-line at the new website if they wish.

Adam May, a village resident and sales representative at Graybar Electric in Marinette praised village officials for the increasing use of LED lighting and encouraged further changeovers by the village to more efficient lights. He recommended making a concerted effort to make as many of those changes as possible this year, while Wisconsin Public Service still has funds to help communities with the changes.

January bills were paid. Trustee Jerry Rogge questioned a large bill for Utility Director Kevin Schuttes overdue pension dues, which other trustees said had been thoroughly discussed at earlier meetings.

The financial report stated that the village had $382.376.24 in its accounts as of Jan. 31.

The Board will meet next on Monday, March 3 at the Pound Village Hall.